Reserve Bank of Australia Annual Report – 2004 Financial Statements Independent Audit Report

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INDEPENDENT AUDIT REPORT

To the Treasurer

Scope

The financial statements comprise:

  • Directors' Statement;
  • Statements of Financial Position, Financial Performance and Distribution; and
  • Notes to and forming part of the Financial Statements

for both the Reserve Bank of Australia (the Bank) and its consolidated entity, for the year ended 30 June 2004.

The members of the Bank's Board are responsible for the preparation and true and fair presentation of the financial report in accordance with the Finance Minister's Orders made under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. This includes responsibility for the maintenance of adequate accounting records and internal controls that are designed to prevent and detect fraud and error, and for the accounting policies and accounting estimates inherent in the financial report.

Audit approach

I have conducted an independent audit of the financial statements in order to express an opinion on them to you. My audit has been conducted in accordance with Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) Auditing Standards, which incorporate Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards, in order to provide reasonable assurance as to whether the financial report is free of material misstatement. The nature of an audit is influenced by factors such as the use of professional judgement, selective testing, the inherent limitations of internal control, and the availability of persuasive rather than conclusive evidence. Therefore, an audit cannot guarantee that all material misstatements have been detected.

While the effectiveness of management's internal controls over financial reporting was considered when determining the nature and extent of our procedures, the audit was not designed to provide assurance on internal controls.

I have performed procedures to assess whether in all material respects the financial statements present fairly, in accordance with the Finance Minister's Orders made under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, Accounting Standards and other mandatory financial reporting requirements in Australia, a view which is consistent with our understanding of the Bank's performance as represented by the statements of financial performance, financial position and distribution.

The audit opinion is formed on the basis of these procedures, which included:

  • examining, on a test basis, information to provide evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial report: and
  • assessing the appropriateness of the accounting policies and disclosures used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the Bank.

Independence

In conducting the audit, I have followed the independence requirements of the ANAO, which incorporate Australian professional ethical pronouncements.

Audit Opinion

In my opinion the financial statements:

  1. have been prepared in accordance with Finance Minister's Orders made under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 and applicable Accounting Standards; and
  2. give a true and fair view, of the matters required by applicable Accounting Standards and other mandatory professional reporting requirements in Australia and the Finance Minister's Orders, of the financial position of the Reserve Bank of Australia and its consolidated entity as at 30 June 2004, and their financial performance for the year then ended.
Signature of P.J. Barrett

P.J. Barrett
Auditor-General

Sydney
13 August 2004

GPO Box 707 CANBERRA ACT 2601
Centenary House 19 National Circuit
BARTON ACT
Phone (02) 6203 7500 Fax (02) 6273 5355
Email pat.barrett@anao.gov.au